By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party and the Islamist Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl formalised an electoral alliance on Sunday for Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s July 27 legislative elections, with the two parties agreeing to field joint candidates in two constituencies as competition for the 53-seat assembly intensified across a politically volatile region.
The alliance was unveiled at a joint press conference in Islamabad by PPP’s AJK president Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin and JUI-F’s AJK chief Maulana Saeed Yousaf, attended by PPP senior minister Mian Abdul Waheed, minister Nabeela Ayub and other party figures.
Under the agreement, JUI-F candidates will contest as joint nominees in LA-23 Sudhnoti/Pallandri and LA-14 Western Bagh/Dhirkot, with PPP candidates Nabeela Ayub and Zobia Khurshid withdrawing their nomination papers from those seats. In return, JUI-F will back PPP candidates in all remaining constituencies across the territory.
Yasin called the arrangement a significant moment in AJK politics, crediting PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman with facilitating it. He also reiterated the party’s longstanding commitment to the Kashmir cause, saying the PPP had consistently raised the issue in national and international forums.
Maulana Yousaf described it as the first formal electoral alliance between the two parties in AJK, and directed JUI-F candidates who had already filed nomination papers in other constituencies to withdraw in accordance with the party’s decision. Ayub said she would stand aside and actively campaign for the joint candidate in her constituency. Abdul Waheed said the pact reflected the political maturity of both leaderships.
Both sides expressed confidence the alliance would improve their electoral prospects and position them to form the next government in AJK.
CANDIDATE LISTS AND TICKET DISPUTES
Earlier on Sunday, the PPP released its first list of 35 candidates for the elections, covering constituencies across Mirpur, Bhimber, Kotli, Bagh, Poonch, Neelum, Muzaffarabad and Jammu and Kashmir refugee seats held by Kashmiri diaspora communities in different parts of Pakistan.
Prominent nominees include PPP AJK president Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, who will contest from two seats simultaneously — LA-10 Kotli-III and LA-12 Kotli-V (Charhoi). Former prime minister Chaudhry Pervez Ashraf has been named for LA-5 Bhimber-I (Barnala), while the Muzaffarabad divisional seats will be contested by figures including senior minister Mian Abdul Waheed (LA-26 Neelum Valley-II) and Sardar Javed Ayub (LA-27 Muzaffarabad-I).
For the refugee constituencies — seats reserved for Kashmiris displaced from Indian-administered Kashmir who are settled across Pakistan — the party has fielded a slate of candidates including retired Colonel Qadeer Chauhan (LA-34 Jammu-I) and Aamir Abdul Ghaffar Lone (LA-40 Valley-I). Party sources said remaining candidates would be named in a second phase in the coming days.
However, eight seats remain unresolved, including seven in AJK and one refugee constituency. The ticket for Muzaffarabad-Danna has been withheld after the nomination papers of assembly speaker and acting president Chaudhry Latif Akbar were rejected; the party said it would issue his ticket once an appeal is decided. Candidates have yet to be finalised for Bhimber and Samahni, while internal disagreements persist in Khuiratta, Kotli, where the party is trying to broker consensus between Waleed Matloob Inqalabi and Chaudhry Rafiq Nayyar. In Multan, Khawaja Kaleemur Rehman has been finalised for the refugee seat.
The phased announcement reflects a wider tactical calculation. Under the election schedule, candidates must submit a party ticket or nomination certificate by July 2 to be allocated their party’s electoral symbol. Political observers and party sources say major parties have been deliberately staggering candidate announcements to minimise the risk of rejected aspirants defecting before the deadline closes off that option.
That risk is being closely watched in the case of former AJK prime minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas. After initially being considered for up to four constituencies, Ilyas is now insisting on party tickets for Rawalakot-Pachiot and Central Bagh. Sources say PPP leadership and senior figure Sardar Qamar Zaman had given Ilyas assurances over the Central Bagh seat, while Sardar Ziaul Qamar or a family member would contest the Eastern constituency. If denied those tickets, political sources say Ilyas may defect to the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party, potentially taking Ali Shan Soni with him — a move they described as a significant blow to the PPP.
Separately, informed sources said a number of prominent political figures across AJK were expected to join the IPP within 48 hours, as candidates shut out of nominations at established parties began exploring alternative platforms.
PML-N AND INTER-PARTY DIPLOMACY
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is also intensifying its AJK campaign preparations, with minister of state for finance and revenue Bilal Azhar Kayani chairing a party meeting in Islamabad on the instructions of PML-N president Nawaz Sharif. The session focused on polling day strategy for two AJK constituencies in Jhelum district, with nominated candidates Raja Muhammad Siddique (LA-39 Jammu-VI) and Shaukat Ali Shah (LA-42 Valley-III) in attendance alongside senior party figures from Rawalpindi and Jhelum. Responsibilities for the campaign were distributed across all four tehsils of Jhelum district, and a follow-up review meeting in Jhelum was agreed upon.
On the diplomatic front, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman held separate meetings in Islamabad with JUI-F’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Senate opposition leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, as part of broader efforts to engage religious and political leadership over the increasingly tense situation in Azad Kashmir.
Speaking after his meeting with Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Hafiz Naeem said the situation in AJK was “extremely concerning” and urged the government to come forward and initiate dialogue. He cautioned that any action worsening the situation would be harmful to Pakistan, and appealed to the Joint Awami Action Committee — the civil society and protest coalition that has been at the centre of recent unrest — to avoid steps that could benefit Pakistan’s adversaries. “Peace and normalcy are essential for holding free and peaceful elections,” he said, describing the creation of a conducive electoral environment as the shared responsibility of the government and the Election Commission.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, for his part, said Kashmiris had always carried out their struggle under the Pakistani flag and called for the issue to be resolved through wisdom rather than emotion. He said he had previously suggested postponing a recent sit-in protest, and while that protest had continued, no further escalatory step had been taken. He said the government was engaged in consultations and should clarify its position so that political leaders could play a constructive role. “I am ready to talk to the government on the Kashmir issue,” he said.
Allama Raja Nasir Abbas warned that the level of mistrust developing in the region was “dangerous,” adding that significant damage had already been done. “There is a need to heal wounds,” he said, adding that the people of Azad Kashmir could not be left without support. “We will try to resolve the issue through dialogue.”
The July 27 vote will elect members to AJK’s 53-seat Legislative Assembly. The territory is administered by Pakistan but remains at the heart of a decades-old dispute with India, whose constitution claims it in full.
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